THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INSTRUMENT-ASSISTED SOFT TISSUE MOBILIZATION TECHNIQUE ON MUSCULOSKELETAL SOFT TISSUE INJURIES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine the impact of IASTM on musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries.  Materials and Methods: In order to find terms like "instrument," "assisted," "soft tissue dysfunction AND wrist, back, elbow, knee, ankle and foot", "interventions AND IASTM," studies from conception to December 2021 were systematically analyzed across seven electronic databases: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Scopus, PEDro, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria for the systematic review were thus met by (n=14) randomized controlled studies. Results: IASTM treatments are associated with both short and long-term pain reduction and improved functioning. IASTM was discovered to have a short-term favorable effect on the functioning of patients with soft tissue injuries.  Conclusion: It was established that IASTM had a short-term positive impact on the functionality of individuals with soft tissue injuries in different body regions. Future researches should focus on acquiring information about long-term effects using credible evidence.

Professional Development of Teachers Through Activity-Based Learning Skills in Science

Activity-Based Learning Skills (ABLS) strategy for the teaching of science creates an inquiry environment for a teacher’s professional development. It draws upon the perceptions and experiences of science teachers, who demonstrate their theories, and practices of science teaching and reflections. This is a mini-project in the classroom. Its pre-intervention involved three CPs as a team for data collection, and the data analysis was done individually. Findings from the situational analysis emerged and were backed by interviews held earlier with a science teacher, students and the principal who were the focus of the study. They all raised a need for shift in the teaching strategy from ‘Chalk and Talk’ to more ‘Student-centered learning methods’, such as the ABLS. The post-intervention action implementation of the ABLS in the classroom involved co-teaching. The ABLS project enhanced the teachers’ experiences, creativity and imagination to enrich the science classroom activities. ABLS was to bridge the existing teaching approaches with inquiry-based teaching and active learning. This is an attempt in form of a small project in which 4 lessons have gone through the project cycle. The other 2 units are given as initiatives to carry forward the ABLS project. Findings from this project show that learning new knowledge through ABLS project facilitates change child-centered learning gradually. The vice-principal of the school appreciated ABLS and said: ‘I assure you, I will continue with activity-based learning through workshops and sharing with teachers low-cost and no-cost materials’ price.’ This indicates that the foundation for post-intervention has been laid! The project further reinforced the need for the intervention to target the whole school to minimize the dominance of lecture teaching beyond Grade 5. ABLS although is time-consuming, yet it requires coteaching for sustainability and continuous improvement of the project, such as this.